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Sunday, November 1, 2015

Introspective

I just recently had an open discussion
in my Cultural Diversity class at the Suzhou International Foreign
Language School in Suzhou, China. The discussion centered on the ending
of China’s immensely unpopular ‘one child policy.’

The one child policy went into effect in 1979 and those
born after the policy was enacted are now aging. The aging population is
of great concern for the Chinese government because those who are
nearing their senior years will need to be cared for in the not too
distant future. The policy has also caused a gender imbalance; there are
now 33 million more male citizens than females living in China.

The Chinese government estimates that the one child policy
prevented over 400 million births. It has also resulted in hundreds of
millions of people rising out of poverty in a nation with 1.35 billion
people. A Billion more people than the entire U.S. population.

China’s one child policy, however, has been highly
criticized, especially, in the U.S. with horrific media stories of huge
government fines, forced abortions, and sterilizations. China’s
decision, however, to abolish the policy, allowing couples to have two
children was done for practical reasons not due to criticism from the
western media.

The government hopes that there will be enough willing
couples to turn the ageing tide but the one-child family has now become
the norm in China. Working parents and house-bound grandparents helping
to raise a child is a custom deeply embedded in China’s culture. The
cost of living has also risen in China, and the economy, in relative
terms, is less buoyant, so having a second child is a huge economic
burden for the average Chinese family.

For many in China, opinions, about their government
allowing couples to have two children are mixed. I spoke to a Chinese
teacher here at the school where I work. She has a three-year-old son
and she was not surprised about the change in policy. She told me
changing the one-child policy has been discussed in China for quite
some-time.

She went on to say, that many in China knew the government
would have to abandon the one-child policy and there needs to be
encouragement by the government for young couples to have more children.

She also told me that she would not have another child in
the near future. Because, she does not want to be faced with the high
pressure from her second child’s education needs it’s a big sum of
money. She also doesn’t think it would be affordable for people like her
to have more children.

There are, however, many couples in China that have a
strong economic foundation and they would like the opportunity to have a
second child. Many feel having more two-child households would benefit
their society and it would be better for the next generation.

There are still those, however, who feel it’s not
necessary for their child to have a brother or sister. In school, their
child can get along and socialize with other children without feeling
lonely.

The Chinese Government is predicting that 35 per cent of
China’s population will be over the age of 60 by 2050. In the changing
demographics, for every 2 people in China there will be approximately 4
senior citizens who will have to be cared for in the latter-half of this
century. The two child policy is an attempt to address the future aging
crises. There is also a fear that China will have less of a labor force
as the aging population increases and people become too old to work.

Many of China’s internet users feel China’s change in
policy comes too late to make a lasting difference. Many remain unsure
if the policy will prove successful. “It won’t help,” one user of Weibo,
China’s Twitter, wrote. “Rocketing house prices, medical and childcare
costs drive people to work harder. Women who work after having a second
baby have a difficult time.”

Couples in the past who broke the one child policy rule
were forced to pay a fee in proportion to their entire year income. In
some cases, rural families saw their livelihood in the form of their
pigs and chickens taken away.

In very poor rural areas of China girls who gave birth out
of wedlock had to pay 43,910 RMB ($6,925.86 USD) known as a “social
maintenance fee.” Those who have unlawful births outside the policy,
including unmarried parents, must pay an amount to be determined by the
authorities.

One comment on China’s social media about the change in
policy wrote, “I’m not sure if the policy will affect us [single
mothers]”, and another person wrote, “I wonder how it will affect births
out of wedlock.”

China does pride itself and credits the one-child policy
with preventing 400 million births and helping lift countless families
out of poverty. But, many westerners feel there should be no limit to
the number of children a couple chooses to have, and until the Chinese
government removes itself entirely from their citizens most personal
choices, the two child policy can only be considered a partial victory
for the Chinese people.

Most couples in developed Nations throughout the world
have already chosen to have no more than two children for economic
reasons. Many couples in China will limit their number of children not
out of fear of a large government fine but out of economic necessity.
It’s very expensive for an average couple to raise a child in today’s
world and China is certainly no exception.

Only time will tell whether China’s two-child policy will
be successful or not. But, hopefully, I will still be around to enjoy my
stay here with my youthful fresh faced students.
Always with love from Suzhou, China
Thomas F O’Neill

U.S. voice mail: (800) 272-6464
China Cell: 011-86-15114565945
Skype: thomas_f_oneill
Email: introspective7@hotmail.com
Other articles, short stories, and commentaries by Thomas F. O'Neill can be found on his award winning blog, Link:
http://thomasfoneill.blogspot.com

Click on author's byline for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.